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On February 10, Sombrilla hosted another successful International Dinner at La Cité Francophone. Elizabeth Araya and her music partner Jamie Calderon started the evening by serenading the audience with sounds from Latin America. This musical duo captivated the audience with their beautiful harmonies and skillful guitar strumming. They were a perfect way to start off the evening.
After a delicious dinner catered by Café Bicyclette, keynote speaker, Lewis Cardinal, took the stage to speak about the importance of walking in partnership with indigenous cultures both here at home and globally to build a more sustainable future for everyone.
Audience members also enjoyed a fabulous selection of items to bid on in the silent auction, as well as a riveting live auction both to raise money for Sombrilla’s development projects.
The Sombrilla Board of Directors would like to thank everyone who attended the International Dinner, as well as all our supporters, donors and sponsors. Sombrilla raised over $18,000 from this dinner and we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for all of your continued support.
Your support will help us to continue with each of our ongoing projects. Some of the things we accomplished with your help are funding 150 pessaries for women in Ayacucho and Marian Peru, A year of school for 20 junior high school children in Tierra Colorada Guatemala and support for 2 students in El Salvador to continue their post secondary education.
We all look forward each year to this evening when we get to meet so many of our supporters.
The 2018 International Dinner marks our 30th anniversary celebration! Stay tuned for details. You won't want to miss it.
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Mahad Omar with children in Yurac Yacu Peru
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Youth to Youth Tour Radio Doc.
Mahad Omar who was a participant in the 2015 Youth to Youth Tour has made a radio documentary about his experience and the relationships between the Canadian and Peruvian youth on the tour. You can listen to the Documentary using the link below.
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Maria Elena Alvarado with Ixil-Maya women
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Grains of Hope, Promoting Human Rights in Guatemala
An evening to focus on the human rights in Guatemala from the civil war to the present. Together with Amnesty International, we will be showing the film Mother Tongue, the story of the making of the first feature length film in the Maya-Ixil language. We will also welcome our guest speaker Maria Elena Alvardo, who will speak about her experiences as a refugee from Guatemala's civil war, who has continued to support the indigenous communities in Guatemala.
We will also be joined by the group CAPS, Communities at Play Society which supports girls and women in El Canton 7 de Febrero, a rural community in Guatemala. They will have their beautiful photos from Guatemala on display and they will be selling enchiladas and drinks as a fundraiser for their projects.
Where: The Grand Salon, Campus Staint-Jean, 8406 Rue Anne-Marie Gaboury
When: Wednesday May 24th 6:30 PM
Cost: Free, (food and drinks will be available for purchase)
This is a free event but it would help us to know if you plan to come. You can register for the event on Eventbrite using the link below, or just reply to this email.
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Women Empowerment Project in Honduras
Sombrilla recently concluded a project supporting women in the rural
areas of Eastern Honduras. Our local partner for this project was an agricultural cooperative, the Cooperativa Agricola Esfuerzo Occidental Limitada (CAEOL). The goal of the project was to empower women through integration into agricultural value chains. The women will grow crops for sale in the market resulting in revenue generation for their families.
With the additional revenue women are better able to pay for health care, education and other basic needs of their families and improve quality of life. In addition to improvements of the household income, the project generates employment opportunities for women in the rural areas, resulting in improved self-confidence and empowerment of their position in their families and in society.
Sombrilla provided funds for the establishment of small-scale plantations of passion fruit, including seeds, fertilizer and other agricultural inputs. Sombrilla also funded training sessions and an agricultural technician to support the women throughout the project. The plants will start bearing fruit within 6 months to 1 year. Women will sell the fruit to local and regional supermarkets and national processors of passion fruit pulp.
The project also provided support to the women’s group to establish organizational structures on working together within the community. The women formed a group and started working together and supporting each-other. This will improve their ability in participating in the decision making process in other areas, such as their family, the community and in the future in local organizations.
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Meet Laura, our Board Intern
Laura was born in Colombia and immigrated with her family to Montreal, Canada, at the age of 16. Since she was very young she has had a deep passion for community service. That passion led her to apply for a board internship through the Community Service Learning Program at the University of Alberta where she is a student. Luckily for the Sombrilla board she was matched with us.
Since September Laura has attended Sombrilla meetings, and taken workshops on board effectiveness. Part of Laura's internship is to do a project that will be of benefit to the board. Laura has decided to develop a series of workshops works on gender analysis which she will deliver for the board members over the next year. The objective of this workshops is to find culture-friendly approaches to tackle obstacles and make Sombrilla's support to partner organizations more efficient. Laura hopes to continue to serve within her community, to inspire others to volunteer and give so people in Latin America can succeed and to continue being part of Sombrilla for years to come.
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Two Sombrilla Representatives chosen for the ACGC 30 Under 30 Award.
Congratulations to Henry Noel Chicas (left) and Peter Schalk (right) on being chosen by ACGC for this year's 30 under 30 magazine.
Henry lives in El Salvador and works with our partner organization there promoting human rights. We are hoping to have Henry visit us here in Edmonton later this year.
Peter is a Sombrilla board member and treasurer and member of our Public Engagement committee. He was one of the leaders of our 2015 Youth to Youth Tour and one of the most involved Sombrilla members.
You can read more about Henry and Peter in the 30 under 30 magazine.
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Sombrilla Calendar of Events
May 24 Grains of Hope Event
June 2 Peru Flooding Fundraiser with Rainbow of Hope for Children, 6:00pm – 8:30pm ROOTS ON WHYTE 8135 – 102 St. (Whyte Ave) No entrance Fee, Food, Music, Dance, Auction, Donations
June 9 and 10 Sombrilla will be at Just A Little Night Market 3-11PM Admission is $5.00 at the door. The Aviation Hangar
11410 Kingsway Ave, Edmonton
June 24 and 25 Garage Sale for the Urogynecology Project 11AM-4PM each day Grandview Community Hall
Grandview community centre
September 17 to October 1 Urogynecology Team will be working in Peru. We will be offering a volunteer trip to Peru alongside the Urogynecology team. Volunteers will be providing support for the medical team and doing small projects such as stove building in Ayacucho and Yurac Yacu.
Look for updates about these events in the coming days and weeks.
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About Sombrilla
Sombrilla International Development Society is an Alberta-based, independent Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) founded in 1985. Sombrilla develops partnerships with Latin American NGOs that share its values in order to assist them in their development. Sombrilla focuses on providing assistance that is result oriented and sustainable. "Sombrilla" is the Spanish word for "umbrella," which symbolizes the partnerships between organized communities from Canada and Latin America that assist in sheltering vulnerable populations from oppression while promoting community participation. Presently Sombrillahas projects in Guatemala and in Peru. These projects are focused on helping communities to gain stable access to basic health care, clean water, basic education for pre-school and primary school aged children, maternal and child health and economic development within the community.
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Thank You to our Supporters
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We would like to thank everyone who has supported us in our projects including,
- The Government of Alberta
- Choices in Community Living
- The Ontario English Catholic Teacher's Association
- The Monsignor Irwin Foundation
- The Calgary Fedaration of University Women
- Alberta Council for Global Cooperation
- The University of Alberta Community Services Learning Program and especially the SPAN 406 class
- Canadian Home Economics Foundatin
- Organic Box
- And the many individual donors and volunteers who have helped us so much.
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Join the Sombrilla team
Do you have a strong interest in International Development. Do you have connections to Latin America? We are always looking for volunteers. We have opportunities to join the board of directors, committees and help with events.
If you are interested please contact us at sombrillahome@gmail.com
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